Sustainability Leaders

How can companies leverage sustainable strategies as a potential source of competitive advantage? In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, James Burrow, Director, Sustainable Finance at BMO is joined by a panel of experts to explore how incorporating social and environmental considerations could help drive efficiencies and unlock growth opportunities. The panel includes Aysu Katun, VP of Sustainability, Greif; Tim Faveri, VP of Global Sustainability, Nutrien Inc; and Torsten Lichtenau, Partner and Global Head of Carbon Transition Practice, Bain & Company.

The U.S. is a net importer of organic food, and demand for certified organic products represents an opportunity for domestic agricultural businesses. That was one of the main points to come from the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, hosted by Emily Hobbs, Senior Advisor, BMO Climate Institute, and featuring Jessy Beckett Parr, Chief Program Officer, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).   "There is a strong and growing demand for certified organic products here in the United States. It's being driven by Millennials and Gen Z, but it's across all categories of age, demographic, geography," said Parr. "We have the power and the potential in American producers here domestically to meet the demand for organic.”

Renewable energy generation continues to grow and increase the need to store energy efficiently and economically for longer durations of time. In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Jayen Veerapen, Senior Advisor with the BMO Climate Institute, explores how zinc-based batteries and storage assets could be an interesting alternative to lithium-ion battery chemistries. His guest is James Larsen, CEO of e-Zinc, an energy storage technology developer with projects in Canada and the US.   “At the stage we're at right now, the modest amount of renewable energy we actually have on the grid, it only really necessitates energy storage assets that have the ability to discharge energy for a few hours. But if you extrapolate out the curve and really think about what does 2030 look like, what does 2040 look like, and beyond, and think about the volume of renewable energy that's coming on line, it's going to create more and more significant imbalances between that supply and demand,” Larsen said.

In his New York Times-Bestselling book Cheaper, Faster, Better, Tom Steyer reframes climate change not as a crisis to fear, but as a once-in-a-century opportunity to build something better. In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, and Grégoire Baillargeon, Vice-Chair BMO Climate Institute, sit down with Tom Steyer, Co-Executive Chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, to discuss his thoughts on investment opportunities and climate change.

Helium-3 is an important isotope for technological and energy innovation driving the net-zero transition. It's very rare on Earth but found commonly on the Moon. In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, catches up with Glen Martin, Chief Executive Officer of The Extraterrestrial Mining Company (XMC), to discuss mining Helium-3 on the Moon and how space exploration will be part of the energy transition on Earth.

In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Emily Hobbs, Senior Advisor with the BMO Climate Institute, sits down with Matt Petersen, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. They discuss the role of startups and innovation in LA as communities rebuild after devastating wildfires. They also explored the importance of public-private partnerships as the second-most populous U.S. city prepares to host events such as the World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Los Angeles has an important role to play to reduce the impacts of the climate crisis and air pollution upon people's lives and health, while creating economic opportunity to help entrepreneurs and participants in the workforce to be part of the solution,” Petersen said.

Identifying the most promising innovations in clean energy and turning them into commercially viable solutions are not easy to do. In the newest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer with BMO, sits down with Tyson White, Director of Partnerships at world leading venture and catalyst investor Breakthrough Energy. Founded by philanthropist and investor Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy is a group of organizations that invests in clean energy innovations and climate solutions. The discussion covers promising innovations in the clean energy space, approaches to investment and how to lower the barriers to capital to foster more innovation.

It might seem obvious to say that the energy transition will require a lot of innovation to happen. But it's anything but obvious how a combination of technology, new thinking, and hard work will address our present-day energy challenges. In the newest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer, BMO hosts Denver Yu, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Generational Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, to discuss his firm's investment theses. Joining Denver are three portfolio companies and their respective leaders: Mariah Francis Carter, CEO of Lumora Technologies; Josh Riedy, Founder and CEO of Thread; and Kevin Kong, Founder and CEO, Everstar.

In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, discusses escalating water-related risks for businesses and the importance of public-private partnerships for water stewardship. She is joined by Jason Morrison, President of the Pacific Institute and Head of the CEO Water Mandate, an initiative of the UN Global Compact.

Addressing the increasingly complex problem of wildfires that threaten people, communities and economic assets, requires new ways of thinking and new technologies. That is the premise of Convective Capital, California-based venture capital firm that invests in companies trying to solve the global wildfire crisis. Jay Ribakove, Principal at Convective, joins Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer for BMO, on the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders to discuss some of the most promising fire mitigation and suppression innovations.

Agrivoltaics is an innovation in which land is simultaneously used for farming and solar energy production. The aim is to increase land use efficiency, produce income, and generate environmental and social value. In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, sits down with Kathryn Beroš, Founder and Managing Director of KAP Industry, a global agrivoltaics solution provider, to learn how the technology could help address the challenge of water scarcity.

How is the metals and mining industry driving sustainable development? Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO and President of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), and Camilla Sutton, BMO's Head of Equity Research for Canada and the UK, explore the industry's progress, key achievements, and what's next. During this 30-minute episode, they discuss the ICMM and its members' progress on Consolidated Mining Standards, TNFD, decarbonization, the ‘trust deficit,' and how the industry is contributing to sustainable development.

Critical minerals are essential inputs in modern energy and high-tech applications, including batteries, energy storage and infrastructure, and national security. They also play an important role in the global energy transition, where demand is expected to necessitate significant investment in order to develop new mines, downstream processing capacity, and secure and resilient supply chains. In this BMO podcast, Greg Jones, Battery Materials Analyst with BMO Capital Markets, sits down with Kwasi Ampofo, BloombergNEF's Head of Metals and Mining, to discuss the complexities of the critical minerals industry and the investment outlook.

In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Jonathan Hackett, Managing Director and Head, Sustainable Finance, BMO Capital Markets, sits down with Francisco Leon, President and CEO, California Resources Corporation (CRC), the state's largest oil and gas production company. CRC is focused not only on meeting the present energy needs of the world's fifth-largest economy, but also preparing for a lower carbon future.

In this two-part episode of Sustainability Leaders,  George Sutherland, Senior Advisor of Climate Change & Sustainability, hosts a conversation about the state of building retrofits, parallels between retrofits and future climate objectives, and potential opportunities. Our guests on the show include Bryan Flannigan, Executive Director, Building Decarbonization Alliance; Max Graham, Chief Operating Officer, Avenue Living; and James Burrow, Director, Sustainable Finance, BMO.

In this two-part episode of Sustainability Leaders,  George Sutherland, Senior Advisor of Climate Change & Sustainability, hosts a conversation about the state of building retrofits, parallels between retrofits and future climate objectives, and potential opportunities. Our guests on the show include Bryan Flannigan, Executive Director, Building Decarbonization Alliance; Max Graham, Chief Operating Officer, Avenue Living; and James Burrow, Director, Sustainable Finance, BMO.

Aligning corporate supply-chain management with sustainability objectives is a complex project, involving various groups and partners. Procurement is a key aspect. In the latest episode of Sustainability Leaders, Angela Adduci, Senior Advisor, BMO Climate Institute, hosts a conversation with two complementary perspectives on sustainable procurement. Nathan Cummins, Global Lead for Renewable Energy Markets at The Nature Conservancy, shares insights from a toolkit to help corporate buyers with clean energy procurement. Sherrie O'Doyle, Director, Sustainable Procurement & Value Growth, BMO Financial Group, offers her experience working with supply-chain partners.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, host Caroline Donlin leads a panel of experts in exploring the future of sustainable construction. The discussion covers a range of topics, including the adoption of low-carbon building practices, the impact of tax credits on sustainable development, and the challenges facing the industry. Panelists James Burrow, Julia Gisewite, Barry Howard, and Nicholas Ryan offer their perspectives on emerging technologies, the importance of embodied carbon reduction, and the roadblocks to building green. From heat pumps to innovative materials, the conversation delves into the exciting possibilities and hurdles in creating a more sustainable built environment, providing listeners with a comprehensive look at the evolving landscape of sustainable construction.

A sustainable energy transition and growing demands for energy will require creative and novel ideas in energy science to become reality. How should we evaluate novel claims? What are some of the most promising areas of research in breakthrough energy? George Hathaway is an experimental scientist and engineer whose career has focused on how to experimentally validate novel and breakthrough energy concepts. In our discussion, George shares his thoughts on some of the most innovative areas of research on breakthrough energy currently underway and how he examines and validates such claims for inventors and investors.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Alma Cortés-Selva, Senior Advisor at the BMO Climate Institute, is joined by Nicole Rojas, CEO of Lasso Solutions, to explore the transformative funding solutions that are helping the beef and dairy sectors cut down on carbon emissions and embrace more sustainable practices.

Infrastructure is a vital driver of environmental sustainability and social resilience. Recorded at the Toronto Global Forum in 2024, this discussion on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable infrastructure was moderated by Karen Mazurkewich, Vice-President, Stakeholder Relations and Communications, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), and included Grégoire Baillargeon, President of BMO, Quebec, and Vice Chair, BMO Climate Institute, Marie-Claude Dumas, President and CEO, WSP Canada, and Macky Tall, Chair of Infrastructure Group, The Carlyle Group.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders recorded on location at Climate Week NYC, Jonathan Hackett, Managing Director and Head, Sustainable Finance at BMO, sat down with Justine Fisher, CFO at Svante, to discuss the state of carbon solutions, regulations, and carbon credit markets.

This episode explores why real estate owners and developers are increasingly committing to sustainable practices, and how builders are supporting these initiatives.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, BMO's Alma Cortes-Selva leads a roundtable discussion on supply chain management and sustainability.

Grégoire Baillargeon, President, BMO Financial Group, Quebec, and Fred Lalonde, co-founder of Deep Sky, discuss why carbon removal technology solutions are urgently needed and the opportunities to scale them.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Issam Majeed, Managing Director of Diversified Industries, BMO Corporate Finance sat down with Anil Abrol, Founder and CEO of Eco Guardian. Eco Guardian has been helping lead the way in sustainable packaging for the last 20 years and is at the forefront of the fight against environmental degradation, specializing in organic and eco-friendly products designed to minimize waste and pollution.

Zero-carbon construction is not just important for greenhouse gas emissions reduction—it can also be a smart investment for asset owners. Angela Adduci, Senior Advisor, Policy, BMO Climate Institute, sat down with Kathleen Beaumont, Director, Impact & ESG, Forum Asset Management, and Paul Morassutti, Chairman, CBRE Limited, to discuss new insights on the cost and asset values of zero-carbon residential construction in Canada.

We all know the auto industry is headed toward electrification and alternative energy inputs. It's an ambitious undertaking, and dealers have a lot to consider regarding how they will decarbonize and what the future of the dealership will look like. OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer.

This episode from BMO's IN Tune podcast focuses on how the AI/data center build out is contributing to a new era of electricity demand.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, George Sutherland, Senior Advisor with the BMO Climate Institute sat down with John Simpson, Chairman, Owner, and CEO of the CANA Group of Companies and Founder of The Simpson Centre, and Guillaume Lhermie, Director of The Simpson Centre and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary to discuss the trends and opportunities in sustainable food systems.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, our experts discuss the implementation efforts that enable progress towards the dairy industry for the 2050 environmental goals.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, Melissa Fifield sat down with Mil Niepold, Founder and President of The Mara Partners (TMP), a strategic advisory company working at the intersection of equity and the environment.

In part 2, Alma Cortes Selva, Senior Advisor at the BMO Climate Institute, speaks with Jim Winn from Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance about his experience introducing sustainable practices such as cover crop usage and seeing the impact on yield and net return per acre.

Alma Cortes Selva, Senior Advisor at the BMO Climate Institute, speaks with Lauren Brey about her work at Farmers for Sustainable Food and the experience of Paul Cornette from Peninsula Pride Farms of shifting to sustainable farming practices.

This episode dives into the benefits of energy-efficient upgrades to help homeowners make informed choices that can reduce energy costs, improve comfort and contribute to a healthier environment. Host: Ashish Arora, Regional Vice President of Specialized Sales Group, BMO. Guests: Paul Doucet, Principal Architect at Sustainable; Sarah Grant, Certified Energy Auditor, and Founder of Goldfinch Energy; Lori Zucchiatti O'Neill and Michael O'Neill, homeowners that have retrofitted their home.

In this episode of Sustainability Leaders, James Burrow, sat down with Aaron Berg, head of the Building Retrofits Initiative at Canada Infrastructure Bank; Martha Campbell, Principal of Carbon Free buildings at the Rocky Mountain Institutes; and Matt Golden, CEO of Recurve, an energy efficiency services company located in California to discuss accelerating deep energy retrofits to buildings in Canada.

In this episode from BMO's IN Tune Podcast, host Camilla Sutton is joined by Kelly Bania, Joel Jackson, Doug Morrow and Andrew Strelzik to discuss the takeaways from BMO's 19th Annual Farm to Market Conference and stretches across the food and agriculture value chain.

How can climate change impact financial markets and the regulatory landscape, and how might investors be able to integrate climate risks and opportunities into their capital allocation strategies? Listen to our latest episode. 

Last year, BMO and Imperial Oil donated money to the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering to support Schulich Racing (F1), Off-Road (Baja) and Renewable Fuel teams. Learn more in this episode.

Listen to the key takeaways from a panel Rachel Walsh, Environmental Commodities Strategist at BMO Capital Markets joined, titled: “America's Carbon Markets: The Only Way is up. Or is it?”

In this Sustainability Leaders episode, Alma Cortés Selva is joined by Doug Porter and Dr. José Nuño-Ledesma, Assistant Professor of Food Industry Economics and Management at the University of Guelph, to discuss Canada's food inflation from both a domestic and international standpoint.

In the U.S., inflation has been persistent and it's one of the trickiest indexes to measure from an economic standpoint, according to Erik Johnson, Senior Economist and Vice President, BMO Economics. This episode touches on U.S. inflation, housing costs, and extreme weather events.

GRID Alternatives is a national leader in helping economic and environmental justice communities nationwide get clean, affordable solar power and solar jobs, and our energy access work is lighting up off-grid communities across the globe.

The more companies take climate action, the less confident they seem to be about their actions having an impact on what's causing the climate to change. Learn how something called carbon accounting can help.

Learn why a BloombergNEF analyst is not so worried about the slowdown in global electric vehicle (EV) sales.

The availability of insurance can play a critical role in the deploying of capital toward climate action. BMO spoke with Natalia Moudrak, Senior Director, North America Climate, Aon.

BMO spoke with Elizabeth Bellis Wolfe, Senior Advisor at the Department of Energy's Loan Program Office (LPO), one of the highest-profile programs financing new energy technology is the U.S.

Learn about the role of satellites in measuring, managing, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and how this technology is being operationalized by the private sector and governments. 

Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy, shares what younger clean energy companies should understand about LPO and how equity investors view its diligence process.

Magali Gable, Director of Sustainable Finance, sat down with Elizabeth Wallace and Alex Wood, Assistant Deputy Minister, Climate Change, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, to discuss the province of Ontario's new sustainable bond framework.

The energy transition has brought transformation to the mining sector. Colin Hamilton, Commodities Analyst, BMO Capital Markets, sat down with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)'s President and CEO Rohitesh Dhawan to discuss what the industry needs to do to embrace nature-positive mining.